


The Time Aubrey Snapped

by awriterofthings



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies), The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29711217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awriterofthings/pseuds/awriterofthings
Summary: Beca has a new girlfriend which leaves her best friend, Chloe, low-key jealous. Things get even more complicated when Beca's roommate, Jamie, seems to get on better with Beca's girlfriend than Beca does herself. Aubrey just wants everyone to stop being stupid.Prompt from Raginage
Relationships: Beca/ Dani, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 9
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

Chloe entered her apartment with a frown as she stared intently at her phone. She pushed the door shut with her foot as her finger swiped frantically at the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Aubrey asked from the living room couch as she watched her best friend.

Chloe made her way into the living room and dumped her purse beside her before looking at Aubrey. “Beca’s dating someone.” 

Aubrey quirked a brow. “Okay… and we’re upset about this?”

Chloe sighed. “I’m not upset. I’m just... surprised. She never mentioned even being interested in anyone.”

Aubrey shrugged. “It’s not a big deal…unless there’s more to this. Like, I don’t know… you’re ready to admit your feelings for Beca.”

Chloe looked at Aubrey in disbelief. “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t have feelings for Beca? Just because we’re two women-loving-women who have kissed once-,” off Aubrey’s look, Chloe cleared her throat and continued, “ _twice_ due to drunken escapades doesn’t mean anything.”

“I feel like it kinda does, though.”

I’m her best friend,” Chloe stated, as if that explained everything. They had known each other since college; Chloe had chipped away at Beca’s icy exterior and now seven years later, they were still the best of friends. The best of friends who apparently didn’t tell each other who they were seeing. “And she didn’t even actually tell me,” she huffed, showing her phone to Aubrey. “I found out ‘cause her girlfriend tagged her in a photo.”

Aubrey closed her own laptop, happy to take a break from work in order to Instagram stalk Beca’s girlfriend. She was very curious to see who was able to see past Beca’s prickly attitude enough to date her. She held out her hand and Chloe passed over her phone. Aubrey scrolled through the mysterious woman’s page and let out a surprised hum. “She’s pretty.”

Chloe moved to sit beside Aubrey on the other couch so she could look at the pictures as well. “She doesn’t seem like Beca’s type.”

Aubrey snorted out a laugh. “I don’t think Beca even knows what her type is.” She continued to scroll through the photos. “This Dani person seems nice enough. Probably won’t last long, though, seeing as how Beca’s track record is.”

Chloe couldn’t argue there. Beca’s longest relationship was in college with someone she hadn’t even really been that in to. She had just settled until she found the nerve to break things off. “I just don’t get why she didn’t say anything,” Chloe said as she took her phone back from Aubrey. 

“Maybe she was waiting to see if it was something serious,” Aubrey offered. 

“Maybe,” Chloe agreed, but she wasn’t satisfied with that answer as she went back to looking at the Instagram of Beca’s new girlfriend. 

  
Beca entered the kitchen and found her roommate, Jamie, waiting for the kettle to heat up. She gestured to the Keurig machine as she stopped near the woman. “The Keurig would be faster. I even bought you tea k-cups.”

Jamie narrowed her eyes at her roommate of two years. “The fact that you think I would dare drink that drivel is insulting. It doesn’t measure up.”

Beca playfully rolled her eyes and went to make herself a cup of coffee. “Plans today?”

“Just some garden work,” Jamie replied. When she had gotten a tour of the place prior to becoming Beca’s roommate, the sorry excuse of a garden had gotten her attention. Imagining all the wonderful things she could create back there had won her over before she had seen the rest of the house. “You?”

Beca’s phone pinged in the back pocket of her jeans and she pulled it out to read the text. “Chloe’s car broke down,” Beca looked up at Jamie. “She needs me to go get her. Dani’s coming over to drop off some old records she thinks I’ll like. Think you can listen for her?”

“Or you could just tell Chloe you can’t help her,” Jamie suggested. 

Beca frowned. “Why would I do that? She’s stranded on the side of the road.”

Jamie shrugged as she picked up the kettle. “She’s a popular girl, yeah? Lots of friends to help her out. You don’t want to ditch this new girlfriend of yours to be the knight and shining armor to your ex.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “Not an ex. I know I’ve told you that before.”

Jamie poured the tea into a mug and glanced over at Beca. “Right, sorry… crush.”

Beca stood up straighter at the comment. “What? I don’t have a crush on Chloe. Why do you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, ‘cause I’ve got eyes and ears.” Jamie set the kettle down and turned to face Beca fully while she leaned against the counter. “Can’t tell me I’m not right.”

Beca’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve moved on, okay?” 

“Uh huh,” Jamie said, dismissively. “Don’t worry about your little girlfriend-,”

“Dani,” Beca stated. 

“Don’t worry about Dani,” Jamie said, pointedly. “I’ll be here.”

“Thank you,” Beca said. “And don’t worry, she’s just dropping the records off. No socializing required.”

“Music to my ears,” Jamie said before sipping her tea. 

“Be nice, please. I like this one.” It had been a long time since Beca had been in a relationship and it had been like a breath of fresh air meeting Dani.  
Jamie laughed. “So be the exact opposite of how you would act if our roles were reversed?” The two were literally like two peas in a pod when it came to being social. Jamie liked sticking to plants and flowers while Beca clung to her music. 

Beca held out a middle finger to Jamie who only laughed more. “Thank you!” she called to her roommate as she grabbed her keys from the living room. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jamie replied. “Tell Chloe I said hi.” 

When she heard the door shut, Jamie shook her head in amusement. Beca might think she was over Chloe but she highly doubted it. And honestly, if Beca’s exes were anything to go by, Jamie wasn’t very interested in meeting Dani.

Jamie was in the garden with the sliding door open when she faintly heard the doorbell. She had been hoping Beca’s girlfriend wouldn’t show. Cursing, she removed her gloves, tossing them down before exiting through the back gate to make her way to the front door. “Hey there.”

Dani turned around, hugging a few records to her chest. She smiled brightly in greeting. “Hi. Jamie, right?”

“That would be me,” Jamie confirmed. She nodded to the albums. “Dropping those off?”

Dani moved towards Jamie and held the records out. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if Beca’s heard them already.”

“Music guru, that one,” Jamie stated. “You much into music?”

“The same as most people, I think,” Dani answered. “These records were an ex’s. Figured Beca could put them to better use.” 

“The ex didn’t want them back?” 

Dani shifted on her feet. “He, um… he died.”

Jamie mouthed a silent “oh” before scratching the back of her head. “That’s…”

“It’s fine,” Dani said. “It was a couple years ago.” She held out the records to Jamie. “Beca speaks highly of you.”

Jamie chuckled as she took the records. “Does she?”

Dani smiled. “She said she only wants to strangle you sometimes. I think coming from Beca, that’s a pretty great compliment.”

Jamie nodded. “You’re not wrong there.” 

Dani took note of Jamie’s dirt covered overalls and smiled. “It’s cool that you’re so good with plants. I tried my hand at gardening once and that didn’t end very well at all. I was trying to deal with some personal issues through gardening so when my flowers died, I felt like a complete failure.” Dani realized she was rambling and her cheeks reddened. “Sorry, I don’t mean to unload all that information onto you.”

Jamie grinned and waved the woman off. “It’s fine.” She gestured behind her. “I could show you some basics for future reference if you want.” Jamie caught herself off-guard with that offer but it was too late to retract it. 

Dani brightened. “I’d love that. I mean, if it’s not a problem.”

“No bother at all,” Jamie assured her, still quietly wondering what the hell she was doing as she made her way to the backyard.

Chloe got into the passenger seat of Beca’s car after her own car was towed away. “Thanks so much, Becs. I can’t believe it crapped out on me.”

Beca chuckled. “I told you to stop ignoring those warning lights. Where were you headed? I can drop you off there.”

“You can drop me off at home. I was only going grocery shopping.”

“I can take you,” Beca said as she pulled back onto the road. “I wasn’t doing anything today, anyway.” Beca remembered Dani at that moment and made a mental note to text her later to let her know she’d be a little longer than planned.”

“So,” Chloe began, looking over at Beca. “I saw you tagged in a photo the other day.”

Beca furrowed her brows and glanced at Chloe. “Was it an embarrassing photo? I told Amy not to post that.”

“No, it was posted by a Dani Clayton,” Chloe replied. “Your girlfriend that I didn’t know about because you never mentioned her… ever.”

“Oh,” Beca said, simply. “Right, um… I just wanted to make sure we were serious, you know?”

“And are you?” Chloe asked, nonchalantly, but there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was all too familiar with when it came to Beca dating. 

Beca smiled. “Yeah, we are. Dani’s sweet. You’d like her.”

“How’d you two meet?” 

“My dad and Sheila needed help with the twins so they hired Dani a couple months ago. She’s working on getting her master’s in-,”

“-psychology?” Jamie made an impressed face. “That’s brilliant.”

“Thanks,” Dani smiled as she gently patted the dirt around a plant like Jamie had shown her. “Being a nanny allows me to study while I work,” she explained. “Beca’s sister and brother don’t require too much attention so it’s pretty great.”

“So why psychology, Poppins?” Jamie asked as she monitored Dani’s work. 

Dani laughed lightly at the nickname. “People just interest me. How the mind works is very intriguing.” She looked up to meet Jamie’s gaze. “Like I can tell how nurturing you are by seeing how you take care of this garden.”

Jamie scoffed, the appraisal making her uncomfortable. “I’ll have you know I’m a right jerk.”

Dani grinned and shook her head. “No, you’re not.”

Jamie folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Well don’t go telling anyone otherwise.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Dani beamed before she returned her attention to the task at hand.

Jamie admired Dani for a moment before speaking. “You’re not bad, Poppins. Beca’s brought home some wankers. I mean, real tossers, ya know? I’m relieved that-,”

  
“-you’ve found someone who isn’t questionable,” Chloe said. “A little hurt that you didn’t tell me, but I understand why. Maybe I can meet her one of these days.” Chloe was sure she could find something wrong with Dani if she met her. Honestly, she never felt that anyone was right for Beca. People just didn’t get her best friend like she did. 

“Yeah, sure,” Beca replied. “Maybe next weekend we can all get together. Jamie’s been saying she kind of misses your incessant cheer.”

Chloe laughed lightly. “How has she been?”

“Not bad. The girl she was seeing didn’t work out. Something about her being dead from the head up.”

Chloe shook her head. “I need to take my hand at setting her up. Maybe with Aubrey.”

“That would last all of five minutes,” Beca said with confidence. “They’d drive each other crazy. And besides, Jamie hates dating. She thinks the whole process is just-,”

  
“-soul-draining,” Jamie sighed. “I rather like my single-ness, really.”

“I think you’re just dating the wrong people.”

Jamie laughed lightly. “That could be it, but who would you say is the right person? Does anyone really know until they’re in the thick of it?”

Dani stopped planting and fixed her gaze on Jamie. “Some people just… know. There’s that feeling… you know?”

Jamie quirked a brow at that woman. “I really don’t, Poppins. I’ll just have to take your word for it, I suppose.” 

Dani stood and brushed off her jeans that were now covered in dirt, which she found didn’t bother her at all. She was enjoying herself.

Jamie nodded to the flowers that Dani had placed in the dirt. “You might try your hand at gardening now, yeah?”

“I think I’d need several more lessons before I should be trusted on my own again.”

Jamie grinned. “Well, let’s take a break. Care for tea?”

Dani’s face scrunched up. “More of a coffee person.”

“If you’re drinking the same nonsense Beca tried to pawn off on me, then you’re just not drinking the right tea.”

“Okay, you could show me what the right tea is.” 

“I’ll still try to set her up,” Chloe said, her mind made up. “Anyway, tell me more about Dani.”

Beca shrugged. “It’s still pretty new, but I enjoy her company. She’s not big into music like me but she listens to all my mixes.”

“Oh,” Chloe responded, trying to remain nonchalant. “You let her hear your mixes?” She herself hadn’t heard a mix in weeks. 

Beca smiled. “She gives me her opinions. They’re not as technical as yours but still helpful. You’ve just been so busy with work that-,”

“Hey, I’m never too busy for you,” Chloe assured her. “All you have to do is ask.”

Beca pulled up to the parking lot of the grocery store. “Okay, maybe I can shoot you a file later and you can give it a listen?”

“Absolutely,” Chloe beamed, but inside her thoughts were running a mile a minute. Was this new girlfriend the reason Beca had been so distant as of late? They used to talk all the time but now she’d be lucky if Beca spared her a minute out of her day. Okay, okay. She was being a tad bit over dramatic. Beca was here with her now after all. She just wasn’t used to Beca not being available to her no matter how busy she was or who she was dating. 

Chloe heard the car door shut and quickly exited the vehicle to join Beca. 

Jamie was sitting in the living room laughing at something Dani had said when Beca entered, surprised to see her girlfriend

“Hey, Becs,” Jamie greeted. She tilted her head toward Dani. “Your girlfriend isn’t insufferable. Good job.”

Beca approached them, taking in the scene. They were each nursing a mug and looked pretty comfortable beside each other. “Sorry, I didn’t know you planned on hanging around. I would’ve come back quicker.”

Dani waved her off. “I didn’t plan on staying but we got to talking,” she gestured between herself and Jamie. “I even helped out in the yard. It’s been fun.” 

Beca smiled. “I’m glad you two are getting along. Jamie can be a real pain in the ass.”

“Hey,” Jamie protested. “You heard the lady. I’m a delight.”

Beca sat down next to Dani, taking the mug from her. As she brought it up to her lips to take a sip, she was surprised by the taste that met her. “Tea?”

“Jamie’s broadening my horizons. Apparently I’ve been drinking nonsense.”

Beca chuckled and sipped more of the tea. “It’s actually not bad once she forces you to drink it enough.” She handed the mug back over. “So… Chloe wants to meet you. Is that something you’re cool with?”

“Meeting the best friend? Guess I’ve got to get her stamp of approval,” Dani joked. “I’ve been dying to meet her myself. You talk about her so much.” 

“Chloe’s great,” Jamie stated. “She’s talkative, perky and has no idea what personal space is, but she’s a real gem, that one.”

“How about next weekend?” Beca asked.

Dani nodded. “That’s perfect.”

Beca placed a hand on Dani’s knee. “You’ll like her and vice versa.”

Jamie glanced at Beca’s hand placement before focusing attention on her tea. 

“I’m not worried,” Dani said, confidently. 

Beca smiled and stood from the couch. “Want to grab something to eat?”

“I could eat,” Dani confirmed. 

Beca looked over at Jamie. “I’ll bring you back your usual?”

“That’d be lovely. Thanks, Becs.” 

Dani stood, slipping her hand into Beca’s. “It was nice meeting you, Jamie. You’re… refreshing.”

Jamie grinned. “Refreshing? I’ll take it. See you later, Poppins.” 

Beca frowned in confusion. “Poppins?”

“Mary Poppins,” Dani explained. “Because I babysit your brother and sister.” She smiled at Jamie. “I think I’m going to get another plant. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“You’re definitely more prepared now so I have high hopes for ya,” Jamie stated. She watched the two leave, ignoring the fact that she already missed the blonde’s presence. 


	2. Chapter 2

Jamie was sitting on her bed reading a book when her phone chimed beside her. She finished the page before picking it up, pleased to see a message from Dani. They had exchanged numbers via Beca and had been talking a lot the last couple of days. When she opened the message, there was a picture of a plant and a smiling Dani. They had been talking for the last few days much to Jamie’s surprise.

_Dani[3:35pm]: This one will survive!_

  
_Jamie smiled as she looked at the picture, her focus more on Dani than the plant._

  
_Jamie[3:37pm]: A croton plant. Good choice. Make sure you let the soil dry out between waterings._

  
_Dani[3:37pm]: Noted. What are you up to?_

  
_Jamie[3:39pm]: Reading. Gardening, books, tea. My favorite things. I’m quite dull._

  
_Dani[3:41pm]: Not dull at all! Actually, you’re one of the most interesting people I’ve met in a while._

  
_Jamie[3:41pm]: That’s high praise._

  
_Dani[3:42pm]: :)_

Jamie looked at the smiley face emoji that Dani had responded with, not sure what to do with that. Was the conversation done? She began to type out a message…

It’s the accent. Ladies love it.

Jamie quickly deleted her words. This was Beca’s girlfriend. She couldn’t say shit like that without it coming off the wrong way. Deciding the conversation was done, she placed her phone down and went back to her book. Minutes passed before Jamie realized she was only staring at the words and not progressing. She closed her book and tossed it aside before leaving her room. “Becs!”

“My room!” Beca called back.

Jamie made her way down the hall and entered Beca’s room. She plopped down on the bed and looked over at her roommate who was sitting at her desk working on music.

Beca turned her swivel chair to face her friend. “What’s up?”

“You’re fine with me being friends with Dani, right?”

“Uh, yeah… why wouldn’t I be?”

Jamie shrugged. “I like her better. If you two ever break-up, I’m taking her side and helping her burn your stuff.”

Beca laughed. “Just not my music. Everything else is fair game. But seriously, I like that you two get along. It makes it easier to date someone when you’re not glaring a hole in the side of their head.”

“Not my fault you have poor taste,” Jamie retorted. “And speaking of poor taste, Chloe’s been trying to play cupid.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Beca said. “She thinks she can find you the right person. I told her you weren’t looking, but you know Chloe.”  
Jamie sighed. “I told her to piss off but I think that only encouraged her more.”

“She’s a puppy. You just have to let her do her thing until something new and shiny comes along,” Beca stated, “or until she tires herself out.”

“You know,” Jamie began. “She and Dani are kind of similar. Dani’s the chiller version but there are similarities for sure.”

Beca thought it over but shook her head. “No, they’re completely different.”

“Well,” Jamie began. “I just hope you’re not using Dani as a way to mask your feelings for Chloe because that’d be a really shitty thing to do.”

Beca frowned. “I’m not doing that. Where is this coming from?”

Jamie moved so that she was sitting on the edge of Beca’s bed. “You’re in love with your best friend.”  
Beca rolled her eyes. “I had a crush, Jamie. That’s it. I’m not in love with Chloe. She doesn’t see me that way and I’ve moved on.”

Jamie studied Beca for a moment before relenting. “Okay.”

“I like Dani. I don’t plan on fucking it up.”

“Good to know.” Jamie gestured at Beca’s laptop. “What noise are you creating today?”

Beca smiled, grateful for the change in subject. She wasn’t good with feelings or expressing them and definitely not comfortable with being called out on them. “You’re such an asshole,” she turned in her chair to play the track she was working on. Jamie wasn’t really into the music she liked but she always listened and sometimes even enjoyed some of the more mellow tracks.  
The slight tension now broken, Jamie focused on the music hoping Beca had her feelings sorted out enough that she wouldn’t end up hurting Dani.

A few nights later, Chloe was lying on the living room couch talking to Beca while working through the shows on her DVR. “Oh, we should go to that café that just opened up. Their smoothies are supposed to be amazing.”

“Sure, Chlo,” Beca said through a yawn. “We can try it out.”

Chloe smiled at Beca’s tired-sounding voice. “You know you can hang-up on me at any time, right?” She checked the time and her eyes widened. “It’s three a.m.,” she stated. “Time really got away from us.”

“I guess sleep would be good,” Beca replied, not really wanting to hang-up. She always enjoyed her late night conversations with Chloe where they would talk about the most random things and their hopes for the future. “I have breakfast plans with Dani.”

“We still need to setup a date for us to meet. Cynthia Rose is having a party this weekend; an a cappella reunion. You should bring Dani.”

“An a cappella reunion might be a little overwhelming to meet all my friends at,” Beca stated.

Chloe chuckled. “She doesn’t know about your Barden Bella past does she?”

Beca groaned. “No. After Jamie’s reaction, I’ve sworn off telling people.” Jamie had searched for videos of Beca’s performances and had herself a nice laugh before complimenting her on her singing voice.

Aubrey walked out of her room and made her way to the kitchen, stopping when she saw Chloe lying on the couch talking on the phone. “Chloe, it’s three,” she pointed out as she entered the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Chloe moved the phone from her ear. “It’s Beca,” she said, simply.

Aubrey shook her head as she got her water. “Of course it is.”

“Don’t start,” Chloe replied before moving the phone back to her ear. “Hey, Becs, I’ve got to get going. Have a goodnight, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”

“Everything okay?” Beca asked.

“Aubrey’s up with a bad case of diarrhea. I need to get her something to help her stomach.” Aubrey’s head snapped towards Chloe and before she could say anything, Chloe quickly spoke into the phone.  
“Kay, gotta go, bye!”

Aubrey rolled her eyes and moved into the living room.

“Don’t say it,” Chloe began as she sat up on the couch.

“You have a thing for Beca,” Aubrey stated. “You need to deal with it.”

Chloe turned off the TV. “I’m tired of telling you that I don’t,” she huffed.

“When’s the last time you’ve been on a date?”

“Being single doesn’t mean I have a thing for Beca. I just haven’t met anyone. What’s your excuse?”

“Okay, fine,” Aubrey relented.

“And since you’ve brought the topic up,” Chloe began. “Jamie’s single.”

“Not surprising. She’s rude.”

Chloe smiled. “She’s just passionate about how she feels.”

“She called me several things the other day that I had to look up and they weren’t nice,” Aubrey stated. “Turn your arrow somewhere else, cupid.”

“You two might hit it off,” Chloe persisted.

“Highly doubt that.” Aubrey grinned as a thought came to her. “You could date her. She’s like a British version of Beca.”

Chloe shook her head. “That wouldn’t work.”

“No? And why’s that?” Aubrey asked, amused. “Because of your toner for-,”

“You know what?” Chloe cut her off. “Jamie’s attractive and any woman would be lucky to have her. I will ask her out.”

Aubrey’s smile fell. “Shit, I was just kidding. I don’t want to be forced to get along with her if you two start dating.”

Chloe got up from the couch and began to head to her room. “She’s probably good with her hands, too,” she called over her shoulder. “All that gardening she does.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes as Chloe disappeared into her room. If Chloe wanted to ignore her feelings for Beca and jump into a relationship with someone just to prove a point, she couldn’t stop her. All she could do was stand by and wait for Beca and Chloe to stop being idiots.

Dani was sitting on Beca’s bed while Beca spoke on the phone with Chloe about something that was apparently going on this weekend. Dani whispered an “I’ll be right back” and slipped off the bed and out of the room. She made her way to the kitchen and opened the sliding door that led to the backyard. She smiled when she saw Jamie sitting outside most likely playing a game on her phone.

Jamie looked up as she heard someone approaching the lawn chair she was resting on. “Dani,” she smiled. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Haven’t been here too long. Maybe half an hour.” She gestured to the empty lawn chair next to Jamie. “Care for company?”

“Beca’s not going to miss you?” Jamie asked.

“She’s on the phone talking weekend plans with Chloe.” Dani sat down on the chair. “I think I’m finally meeting her soon.”

“Chloe’s a gem,” Dani assured her. “You two’ll get along. Her other best friend is a right pain, but you get used to her.”

Dani laughed lightly. “Aubrey? Beca’s mentioned her.

“Intense, that one,” Jamie said. “So, I started that book you mentioned the other day.”

Dani brightened at this. “You did?”

“Needed a good book to enjoy my tea with,” Jamie replied. “It’s pretty good.”

“I told you that you’d like it,” Dani stated, pleased with herself. “How far have you gotten?”

“Halfway done.”

“You must drink your tea really slow,” Dani teased.

Jamie winked at her. “I just drink a lot of it.”

“Beca didn’t make it past the third page,” Dani sighed. “Said the characters’ names were too dumb.”

“Passion’s only for music with that one,” Jamie stated. “She loved those records you gave her.”

Dani brightened at that. “That’s good to hear. She hadn’t mentioned anything about them to me.”

Beca stepped outside and looked apologetically at Dani. “Sorry, that took longer than I planned.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Dani assured her. “I’ve got Jamie here keeping me company.”

“I was talked into helping with party planning. I’m meeting Chloe at one of those party stores. Want to join us? You’ll get to meet her sooner.”

“And I do, really want to meet her,” Dani began, “but I’ve got that psych assignment that I need to get done. The one you were helping me with before your phone call.”

“Shit, sorry. I-,”

“Got distracted,” Dani jumped in. “It’s fine. It’s not due for another week anyway. You go do your thing with Chloe.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Beca asked. “We can hangout after… just us.”

“I’ve got other things I need to do,” Dani explained as she made a move to get up.

“Well, I’m not doing anything,” Jamie stated. “I could help with this assignment.”

Beca perked up at hearing this. “Great! It doesn’t have to be me, right?” She asked, looking at Dani.

Dani smiled at Jamie, quite content to stay and spend more time with her. “If you’re sure. I’ll have to ask a lot of questions.”

“That’s all right, I have a lot of answers,” Jamie replied as she stood. “Just give me a moment, yeah? I’ll see Beca out.”  
Beca’s shoulders dropped slightly, knowing she was going to get an earful from her roommate. She gave Dani a quick kiss and a promise to call her later before entering the house with Jamie.

“So should I tell you how many times you’ve ditched your girlfriend for Chloe or have you been keeping track?”

“You’re making it sound like I’m purposely doing this,” Beca huffed. “Chloe needs my help.”

“Chloe _wants_ your help. You can say no. Well actually, you can’t, can you?” Jamie asked.

“You’re reading too much into this,” Beca insisted. “Dani’s not upset and I’ll make it up to her.”

“Dani’s too sweet to give you hell about it but I have no such qualms. Stop being a shitty girlfriend. And for fuck’s sake, at least pretend to care about her interests.”

Beca’s first instinct was to argue back but she let that feeling pass. “You’re right,” she sighed. “I’m just trying to balance time between my best friend and girlfriend.”

“Maybe let some of that time be in your girlfriend’s favor, yeah?”

Beca nodded. “I’ll do better.”

“You’ll hear about it if you don’t.”

“Oh, trust me, I know.”

Jamie smiled and gestured towards the front door. “Go on, get to your party planning.” Jamie grabbed two beers from the fridge and made her way back out to the deck.

“You know,” Dani began when Jamie sat back down. “You don’t have to do this. I can figure something out.”

Jamie handed the blonde a beer. “I want to help. Maybe I’ll learn something ‘bout myself.”

Dani accepted the beer with amusement. “I shouldn’t be drinking and doing this assignment.”

Jamie shrugged. “Then we’ll enjoy a drink and then do the assignment.”

Dani popped open her beer. “Perfect idea. So, Vance…”

Jamie scoffed. “I knew he was going to be a wanker the moment he appeared on the page.”

They launched into a discussion of the book and Jamie found herself trying to ignore the way Dani’s laugh made her feel lighter somehow— like she should capture the sound and play it back whenever she needed a serotonin boost. She quickly pushed the thought from her head. This was Beca’s girlfriend. She needed to get her feelings in check before they caused a problem. The last thing she wanted was the drama of a love-triangle.


End file.
